we're going to begin this morning with game on. a lot of people happy about this. late last night the nfl reached a tentative deal with its referees ending this season's lockout. anger over the use of replacement refs spilled over after monday night's contest between the green bay packers and seattle seahawks. the refs awarded a game winning touchdown to seattle though many felt the packers made an interception. todays of marathon labor negotiations followed. the refs have to vote on this deal but roger goodell lifted the lockout in time for tonight's matchup. freg roggin will have full details. first, president obama and mitt

romney campaign in virginia today after nearly crossing pathed in ohio. tracie potts joins us from washington with all the details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. let's put virginia in perspective n 2008, president obama won that state after they voted for republicans for over 40 years. then two years after he had been in office, they elected a republican governor. today, the president will try to win virginia back. president obama and mitt romney campaign in virginia today where median income is 23% higher than the national average and unemployment is way lower, under 6%. like ohio wednesday, the president's expected to hammer romney for his comments on the 47% of voters who don't pay taxes. i don't know how many of you will be with me this time around. but -- but it doesn't matter because i'm running to be your

president, to represent everybody. >> we're going to help those who need our help. we're a compassionate people. >> reporter: romney is ten points behind in ohio. that's a bigger gap than nbc and "the washington post" reported. no republicans ever won the presidency without winning this state. >> i'm going to win ohio. i'm going to become the next president because i'm going to have support of people in ohio. >> reporter: the two almost passed each other campaigning traveling on the same road through ohio. ohio begins early voting next week. iowa starts today. iowa officials say absentee ballot requests are up 30% in some areas over 2008. >> thanks so much. last night, nancy pelosi talked about mitt romney's decision to pick paul ryan as his running mate and the impact his role could have on the future of medicare. she also told rachael that democrats could take back control of the house. take a listen.

>> we have been working very hard to get to a place to put the house in play. we did that by, say, late spring, early summer. but when august 11th, mark that date on your calendar, when ryan was chosen, that made a very big difference because medicare, medicare, medicare, the three most important issues in the campaign, that issue was clarified, focus was on it. we could not lose the debate about medicare because if we do, forget democrats and republicans, medicare is gone. >> don't miss the "the rachel mw show." rebel forces attacked the capital and reported the deadliest day of the civil war there. 340 people are reported to have died in fighting across the

country. in damascus, a white van exploded outside a military command center. a skd bomb went off ten minutes later inside the compound and gun battles went on for hours. four guards were killed and 14 others injured in that attack. here's your first look at some other news going on around america today. a texas fast food restaurant became a house of horrors for one employee. the worker was forced at gun point to empty three cash registers into the masked robber's bag. the early morning robbery ended when the employee was shoved into a freezer and the suspect escaped. police have not made any arrests. a very special guest arrived at a hawaiian vacation resort in unique fashion. we have an up close look at it. after an hour of labor, a 12-year-old dolphin gave birth to a female calf last night. the dolphin was born inside a man made lagoon where tourists

can swim with the dolphins. the baby dolphin is now 30 days old and doing great. finally this is kind of funny. nbc's green bay affiliate had a little bit of fun at the expense of the nfl and that referee controversy. >> this is your replacement weather guy forecast. it looks like it's going to be bad out there, people. 200 degrees below today. and it's really going to heat up. it's going to be like 346 degrees by noon. >> in addition to the odd temperatures, he also predicted a thunder hurricane. the real guy eventually showed up and gave the correct forecast. we're allowed to have replacement weather guys? nobody gave me this memo. >> any time you want. >> really? >> i'll bring people in off the

street. >> what, you'd like to actually sleep for once? >> no, i would actually sit here and laugh if you had to deal with them the whole time. >> we would get along, bill. you underestimate me. >> do i? >> yes. >> good morning, everyone. as far as the rain goes, we have very good news out of oklahoma last night. heavy rainfall moved through the state. numerous locations saw downpours. oklahoma city picked up two inches of rain. as far as the drought has gone, i know we're not in the growing season anymore, we still need the rains. we still need to fill up the reservoirs in some areas. kansas and oklahoma are the worst to states and the driest over the last month or two. they're the ones getting some of the rainfall. so that's great. as far as the situation goes, kind of had one of the classic battles going on with the cool air moving from the north. warm, humid air to the south. right in the mid sl where we're locked in with the showers and thunderstorms. one of the areas continues to be oklahoma. oklahoma city is now dry. almost two inches of rain for you. but as you notice you still have numerous areas of rain in tulsa,

oklahoma, three quarters of an inch. significant but not a drought buster. this morning, if you've been driving on the pennsylvania turnpike, you needed the wipers, that started to move towards the philadelphia area. even a little heavy down pour north of baltimore now. so if you're driving from baltimore back up here through wilmington, delaware, you're going to get wet in the next half hour or so. be prepared for that. as far as rainfall goes, nothing too heavy out there. we'll see periods of rain. that drought situation there just has gotten worse over the last couple months. this was good news last night. >> yeah, much needed relief. all right, bill, thanks so much. coming up, another union deal. student debt climbs and a new meaning for the term canine cop. your "first look" at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, there's a home run derby in baltimore, a new leader in the al central and strike up the band, the nfl referees are coming back. jack, you're a little boring.

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welcome back to "first look." protests in athens turned violent over greece's austerity measures. hundreds of rioters hurled gasoline bombs and chunks of martial marble on police. a u.s. army brigadier general is charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct. generalry sinclair is accused of what the army describes as forced sex with female subordinates. the decade's long search for jimmy hoffa has now led to the trif way of a home near detroit. a tip from a dying man was credible enough for authorities to announce they'll test the soil samples from underneath the driveway though they doubt any remains found would actually be from the former teamster's boss. and if you thought google maps were a good way to get around town. check this out. users can now navigate their way

underwater. the pictures of coral reefs are displayed much like the street view feature. pretty cool there. all right, now here's your "first look" at politics. mitt romney told an audience in ohio they should not look forward to a huge cut in taxes if he's elected. romney said that's because he will also lower deductions and exemptions. in an interview with "politico," newt gingrich had some debate advice for romney. gingrich says that when he faces president obama, mr. romney should "not be hostile but be assertive, clear, and direct and not back off." campaigning with mitt romney in ohio yesterday was mike row, the host of "dirty jobs." the two agreed that creating jobs is the most important thing that america needs. the "orlando sentinel" reports that jimmy buffet, the mayor of margaritaville, will be

doing a performance next month to help president obama. tickets for the private invitation only fund-raiser cost between $500 and $5,000. steve harvey will tape an episode today at nbc in chicago with first lady michelle obama for his new day time talk show. he says he is honored. the interview will air next wednesday. and bill clinton told cnn he can't be president in the u.s. again but he does have other options. clinton says because of his irish heritage, he would be eligible to run for president in ireland. since his home state of arkansas was part of the french empire before the louisiana purchase, he could run for president of france. but his french is so bad that he says "within a week i'd be toast." and that's your morning dish of "scrambled politics." and now here's your "first look" at how wall street is going to kick off the day. the dow closed at 13,413 after

falling 44 points yesterday. the s&p 500 lost eight. nasdaq was down 24. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in, tokyo, the nikkei gained 43 points, hong kong, the hang seng jumped 234. mixed housing data and unrest in europe extended the s & p's losing streak on wednesday. the median price of new homes sold in august rose by a record amount. however, sales of new homes dipped slightly. and that took a toll on home builders pulte group, kb and beazer. protests in europe like this one in spain blunted any optimism about the housing market. the bank of spain warned the country is in a deep recession. american greetings jumped 17% after the executives said the company could soon go private. the canadian autoworkers union reached a new tentative labor contract with chrysler group yesterday. following similar deals with ford and gm.

new research from the pugh center finds a record one in five households in the u.s. were saddled with student loan debt in 010. that's more than double the number of homes with college debt in 1989. the average amount owed, $26,682. u.s. bank and pnc have joined the likes of j.p. morgan chase, bank of america and wells fargo in reporting the web sites have been hacked. a cyber watchdog agency increased warnings such attacks which some are blaming on eye ron. red lobster and olive garden restaurants and sears are changing their approach to employee health care. both the companies will soon give employees a fixed sum and allow them to choose their own medical coverage and insurer. and finally, this may make you a little nervous. this small town has gone to the dogs, literally. the police chief of vaughn, new mexico, resigned yesterday.

the problem with that? vaughn's only certified police force member is a drug sniffing german shepard named nika. the a's ace dominates, and the tigers play top cat. plus, how to really use your head in hockey. your "first look" at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. if you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air.

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in sports as we mentioned earlier, the nfl reached a tentative deal with the referees last night. for more on that and all your sports headlines, here's fred roggin. good morning. it took a few months, a number of blown calls and a monday night debacle for the nfl to come to their senses. the league hammered out a deal ending the lockout with the officials. the regular referees will be back tonight. i really feel like people were starting to warm up to the replacement referees. there is no replacement for september baseball. miguel cabrera was on the verge of winning the triple crown. but this was just a long out to left. alex gordon robbed him at the wall and kept the game tied at four. all the tigers needed was textbook base running. two aboard for johnny peralta. they broke up the double play. in came the go-ahead run. that was the difference. detroit won it 5-4. the white sox lost. the tigers are in sole possession of first. indians won it 6-4. in the al east, yankees had no

trouble with the twins. robinson cano ripped an rbi double to right. yankees were up 2-1. that's all cc sabathia needed. looked like his old self yesterday. struck out ten over eight innings. yankees won it 8-2. orioles are hot on their tails. they hit the cover off the ball. chris davis hit a pair of homers. every run baltimore scored came off a home run. they beat the js 12-2. they remain a game and a halfback. finally, the referees ended the lockout. how about the nhl? if fans want to see their favorite players, they have to go overseas or they can watch us. the red wings is in russia where he channelled his inner renaldo. he headed it into the goal. unfortunately, that only counts in soccer. he use the his head. now let's hope the nhl and owners use theirs to win the lockout. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. >> for another look at the weather, let's check back in

with bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. they haven't put a replacement in for you yet? wait a second, i sent the memo out. >> you are going to stop all your nfl rant tweets? >> you finally explained it to me, yeah. >> it's noefrover now. everyone this morning, new england from to mid-atlantic, hit and miss with the showers and storms. we do have one area of heavy rain just north of baltimore this morning. if you're driving from baltimore to wilmington, delaware, you're going to get heavy rain. there are lightning strikes showing up and significant lightning strikes, too. we'll watch that. trying to work its way from wilmington to philadelphia over the next hour. it looks like new york city, just light rain for you over the next hour. of course, the peak of the rush hour it will be a little slow. this hit and miss showers and storms out there today. it will be more miss than anything else. and then later, the forecast period we will see significant rain. it looks like friday night into saturday for mid-atlantic and

new england. >> all right, bill, thanks so much. coming up, more war drove woes for england's prince william and kate. plus, have kristen stewart and robert patteson taken their relationship to another level? you're watching "first look" on msnbc. the new depend silhouette briefs for charity to prove how great the fit is even under a fantastic dress. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. we invite you to get a free sample and try one on too.

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welcome back to "first look." fans are remembering andy williams who died tuesday night at the age of 84 after a year-long battle with bladder cancer. kevin tibbles takes a look back at his life. ♪ moon river >> reporter: he may not have

penned it, but "moon river" belonged to andy william. ♪ i'm going your way >> reporter: the classic handsome velvet voiced crooner, clean cut, even in the 1960s. and an iowa boy william performed with his brothers before going solo. for almost a decade, he hosted "the andy williams show" on nbc. helping to put another group of singing brothers, the osmonds, on the map. the andy williams christmas special was a annual christmas special. ♪ it's the most wonderful time >> reporter: among his achievements, 18 gold and three platinum recordings. >> what he represented was in a chaotic and turbulent time of change, something safe and family friendly. >> reporter: kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. >> well, it is time now for your first look at entertainment

news. following recent reports of a reconciliation, are kristen stewart and robert patteson taking it to the next level? bill is very unhappy about this. >> it's only for the movie, i'm telling you. >> harsh. >> it's young love. us weekly reports that they're once again living together after their brief split due to stewart's affair with the director. a source tells the magazine, however, patteson is on edge. he is extra sensitive, insecure right now. >> can you imagine why? >> meanwhile, okay magazine claims the pair are planning a secret get away in an attempt to mend their relationship. the save your relationship trip. i see. >> it always works, right? >> jenny farley of jersey shore says she is engaged to long time boyfriend roger matthews. congratulations to them. finally, there was a royal faux pas committed earlier last week during prince william and kate's tour to solomon islands. they were offended when the couple wore festive clothing

from the cook islands which are located nearly 3,000 miles away. that's why i'm always offended when you wear clothes made in l.a. you're only allowed to wear clothes made in new york. >> i don't get that story. >> yeah. i don't have time to explain it. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" starts right now. we have a deal. after three weeks of blown calls and ten minute replay reviews, the nfl comes to its senses and strikes an agreement with the referees. the question, is how soon can we get ed hockly and the boys back on the field? there is a game tonight. president obama and mitt romney running parallel campaigns. both in virginia today after following each other around ohio yesterday. the question is, with six days until the first debate, what is the romney game plan to turn this thing around? and senator scott brown of massachusetts issues an apology after some of his staffers are caught on video doing the

tomahawk chop to mark dubious claims by he lez beth warren that she is part native-american. do the voters care about any of this? it's "way too early" for this. good morning. i'm willie geist. this is "way too early" the show after further review is still way too damn early. i'm glad you're up watching us or listening live. you can e-mail me as always. you can tweet me to the answer the question why are you awake. or you can text the word awake followed by your response. we'll read the best responses next. the next 30 minutes will be the cram session for this thursday, september 27th. a lot to tell you about